Container



J. M. BEACH Jan. 13, 1959 CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 7, 1955INVENTOR.

' JOHN M. 6540/ BY 71/5 4 TTOEA/EVS J. M. BEACH Jan. 13, 1959 CONTAINER2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7, 1955 INVENTOR.

JOHN M. 55/104 BY 2 6 5:, W

H/S ATTOFA/EYS United States This invention relates to a shippingcontainer and more particularly to a shipping container for heavyobjects such as aircraft engines, rockets, and the like, though notnecessarily so limited.

The ever increasing use of air transportation has created a demand forlight weight yet strong and durable, shipping containers which can beused for shipping heavy objects by air. In this connection, a specialproblem has arisen with the practice of air freighting replacementengines for aircraft, rockets, and the like, in that it is necessary toprovide an air-tight container which must support several thousandpounds of equipment. Available shipping containers for this purposeweigh from 4000 to 6000 pounds empty and thus, the container alone is anexpensive item to ship by air.

In recent years much varied and costly research in military and civilianlaboratories has been directed toward development of light weightcontainers for this purpose, with but little success. The difficultylies in the fact that suitably strong materials are too heavy and whenlight materials are used, the container becomes very large and bulky ifit is to have the necessary strength.

An object of the present invention is to circumvent this problem bycombining the structural strength of aluminum alloys in a suitablesupport frame with a light weight durable laminated plastic receptaclefor encapsulating the object to be shipped.

Another object is to provide an airtight light weight shipping andstorage container.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become moreapparent from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the shippingcontainer.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view, taken substantially along the line22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken substantially alongthe line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the shipping containercomprises a cylindrical receptacle 22 supported by a dolly generallyindicated at 10. The dolly is formed from a plurality of arched aluminumalloy yokes 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and 12a connected together by a pluralityof horizontal aluminum stringer tubes 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14 and14g. Stringer tubes 14c, 14d and 146 are arranged to all lie in ahorizontal plane, so that the dolly 10 may be transported by aconventional fork truck. The yokes are held in fixed relationship by thestringer tubes which are slightly expanded on either side of each inneryoke and on the inner sides of the end yokes 12a and 126. The yokes 12a,12b, 12d and 12a, that is, the two yokes on either end of the dolly 10,each have a pair of integral brackets 16 projecting therefrom, thebrackets coupling to pivot type aluminum feet 18 by means of an axle 20which may be integral with the brackets. The feet are pivota-ble, sothat the dolly will rest firmly on an uneven or warped floor.

The plurality of yokes 12a, 1212, et cetera, form a substantiallysemi-cylindrical bed which accommodates a cylindrical receptacle 22. Thereceptacle 22 is designed to house a conventional jet engine, shownschematically at 24, or a rocket, or the like. However, the dolly 10,and not the receptacle 22, supports the weight of the housed item. Thisis accomplished as follows.

The yokes 12a, 12b, 12d and 12s have integral flanges 26 at their endswhich abut the wall of the receptacle 22. Opposite the flanges 26, inthe interior of the receptacle 22, are aluminum shock mount supports 28,which abut the inner wall of the receptacle 22. The shock mount supports28 and the flanges 26 are bolted together with threaded aluminum bolts30, penetrating the flanges 26, the wall of the receptacle 22 and theshock mount supports 28, and threadedly engaging aluminum nuts 32. Thereceptacle is kept airtight by providing sealing washers 34 around eachof the bolts 30, the washers being inserted between the shock mountsupports 28 and the wall of the receptacle 22. These sealing washers 34may be commercially available O-rings made from a suitable elastomer.

Bolted to the shock mount supports 28 are shear type shock mounts 36which support longitudinal aluminum side rails 38, there being one siderail on each side of the dolly 10, as best seen in Figure 2. The sheartype shock mounts may be made of any suitable elastomer. The side rails38 are adapted to engage brackets 40 extending from the jet engine 24,or other housed item, thereby supporting the housed item. As best seenin Figure 2, the weight of the housed item is transmitted directly tothe aluminum yokes 12a, 12b, 12a. and 12a, with only compression forcesbeing exerted upon the wall of the receptacle 22.

Thus, the receptacle 22 can be constructed of a light Weight materialwhich is preferably a thermo-setting type plastic. The walls of thereceptacle 22 may be given added strength by laminating to both sides ofthe wall a woven fiberglass mat, the lamination and shaping of thereceptacle parts being accomplished in. a single molding operation.Other suitable reinforcing materials may also be used.

For convenience in handling, the receptacle 22 is formed from twosemi-cylindrical halves, a lower half 42, attached to the dolly 10, andan upper half 44, removable from the dolly 10. To reduce the tendency ofthe receptacle halves 42 and 44 to Warp out of shape, aluminum flanges46 and 48, respectively, are bonded along the periphery of the halves.As best seen in Figure 3, the bond is made by embedding portions of theflanges in the plastic, the embedded portions having serrations or teeth47 and holes or slots 49 which are filled with the plastic underpressure in a mold, the volume of the slots 49 being just suflicient totake up the plastic which Would normally tend to squeeze out of themold. The plastic filled slots 49 also serve to increase the strength ofthe aluminum to plastic bond considerably. Grooves 51, located in bothaluminum flanges 46 and 48 are also filled with plastic during themolding operation, the grooves 51 serving to prevent the plastic frompeeling, or being peeled, away from the embedded aluminum. For addedstructural strength, both sides of the bond may be laminated withfiberglass matting or any other suitable material. The flanges 46 and 48also provide the means by which the halves 42 and 44 are boltedtogether. At several places along the periphery of the halves, aluminumbolts 50 penetrate both flanges to threadedly engage aluminum nuts 52.The flange 46, bonded to the lower receptacle half 42, has a groovedportion 54, which accommodates a rubber O-ring 56, the O-ring 56 actingas an air seal to make the receptacle 22 airtight. The lower flange 46has a projecting portion 58 which seats into a recess 60 in the upperflange 48, thereby containing the O-ring 56. This construction is bestseen in Figure 3.

A typical shipping container of this'design has a receptacle measuringsix feet in diameter and eighteen to twenty feet in length. The weightof the receptacle and combined dolly, however, is less than 1200 pounds.This compares with a weight of 4000 pounds or more for the equivalentall metal shipping containers currently in use. The shipping containerherein described, when loaded with a conventional jet aircraft engine,may be dropped as much as three feet without harm to the engine or thecontainer, even though the force of the drop may be sufficient todistend the shock mountings several inches.

Several advantages in this design for a shipping container are apparent.The receptacle 22 is airtight without being bulky. The plastic andfiberglass lamination, coupled with the O-ring seal, provide areceptacle capable of withstanding a 10 pounds per square inch pressuredifferential from the inside to the outside of the conlength byincreasing the number of yokes forming the dolly and making acorresponding increase in the length of the receptacle. Also, thereceptacle may be formed from a single tubular center section attachedto the dolly and one or two detachable end sections of variable lengthto form a closed receptacle of variable length. The receptacle hereindescribed is of cylindrical shape. How ever, any suitably shapedreceptacle maybe used in combination with dollies having beds ofcomplementary shape.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement ofparts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generallystated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects setforth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A container for shipping and storage of heavy objects such asaircraft engines comprising, in combination, a dolly, said dollyincluding a plurality of arcuate yoke portions and means supporting saidyoke portions in fixed spaced relation, said yoke portions cooperatingto provide an arcuate bed for said dolly, a hollow substantiallycylindrical receptacle nested in the bed of said dolly, the upper endsof said yoke portions terminating in contacting relation to saidreceptacle at diametrically opposed points, a plurality of shockmounting supports arranged in substantially diametrically opposed pairswithin said receptacle, bolt means penetrating the wall of saidreceptacle, the shock mounting supports and the adjacent ends of saidyoke portions to secure said pairs of mounting supports to opposite endsof said yoke portions, there being one yoke portion for each pair ofmounting supports, and means disposed within said receptacle engagingsaid mounting supports for supporting an object within said receptacle,said bolt means providing the sole fixed connection between saidreceptacle and said dolly.

2. A container for shipping and storage of heavy articles such asaircraft engines comprising, in combination, a dolly, said dollyincluding a plurality of yoke portions and means supporting said yokeportions in fixed spaced relation, said yoke portions cooperating toprovide a bed for said dolly, a hollow receptacle mounted on said dollybetween the upper ends of said yoke portions, the upper ends of saidyoke portions terminating in contacting relation to said receptacle onopposite sides thereof, article mounting elements disposed within saidreceptacle in contacting relation to the opposite sides thereof and inopposing relation to the ends of saidyoke portions, and bolt meanspenetrating said mounting elements, the wall of said receptacle, and theopposing ends of said yoke portions to secure said mounting elements tothe ends of said yoke portions, said bolt means providing the sole fixedconnection between said receptacle and said dolly.

3. The container according to claim 2 wherein said yoke portions havingan arcuate configuration and cooperate to provide an arcuate bed forsaid dolly, said receptacle having a substantial cylindrical shape andbeing nested in the bed of said dolly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS172,538 Wiley Ian. 18, 1876 643,787 Brochu Feb. 20, 1900 1,376,216Mittinger Apr. 26, 1921 2,279,958 Snyder et al Apr. 14, 1942 2,285,219Morrell June 2, 1942 2,300,259 Kueppers Oct. 27, 1,942 2,311,613 SlayterFeb. 16, 1943 2,613,807 Higbee Oct. 14, 1952 2,660,295 Beck Nov. 24,1953 2,688,582 Phair et a1. Sept. 7, 1954 2,708,509 Gould et al May 17,1955 2,715,089 Michener Aug. 9, 1955 2,729,327 Roy Jan. 3, 1956

